I forgot to tell you I have Alzheimer's disease!

An Alzheimer brain.

Dementia or Alzheimer's desease!

This hub is dedicated to my friend and all others who has an Alzheimer or demented family member or friend. God bless, you will need it...

Sunday the 24th of May I will never ever forget as long as I live. Today was supposed to be a great day for us as a family. It is Jaime’s (my youngest son) birthday.

The others and I got up at 6 to wake him and sing the happy birthday song and then give him his birthday presents. All went well and every one was happy and gawking over Jaime’s presents. As normal a scuffle broke out between the children as to who can play or see the toys first...

We had birthday cake and tea for breakfast, yeah I know it’s not good but a kid only turns 9 once in his life. Anyways, at around o’clock my phone rang, I happily handed the phone to him coz the calls would start coming in to wish him a happy birthday.

All smiley and happy he answers, I was busy cleaning all the wrapping, he called me and said my best friend’s wife is on the phone. I was a bit perplexed but took it and thought that she phoned to say that they will come over a bit later than agreed…

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I was stunned beyond words. Then it slowly came to me that he always said he’s going to see the doctor and I always jokingly replied not to come back insane… What was I thinking telling him that all the time!!! I thought by myself.

Worst of all is he’s only 32, funny, has an outgoing personality and loves life to the fullest.

Alzheimer’s disease is progressive in nature and worsens over time. It causes areas of the brain to shrink and is fatal. The disease has three stages: mild, moderate and severe. The resulting symptoms start with memory loss and other cognitive deficits, advancing to major personality changes and eventual loss of control over bodily functions.

Then I started seeing the symptoms he showed over the last couple of months and realized that I should have known better, but didn’t….

Funny enough though, he sent me a funny email about a test for dementia a week ago and we were joking about it and would make funny remarks about dementia. He’s really calm about it

I feel so utterly bad and sorry for him, but he just thinks it is a joke and says that soon he will forget all about shait friends like me and his mortgage and all the bad in the world.

He’s currently under medication and would hopefully become better, but as he jokingly said: “forget about me”

My friend's email...

I asked him if I can write about his diease and copy his mail, which he agreed upon. but he said he can't remember where he got the email from, so here it is.

The email I received from XXX reads as follows below...

Dementia test and Answers

The 4 questions and a bonus question about dementia. You have to answer them inmediately. Don't think about it, answer all of them immediately. OK?

Let's find out just how clever you really are.

1st:

You are running a marathon. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

Answer: If you answered that you are first, wrong answer! If you overtake the 2nd person and you take that place, you are 2nd!

2nd:

If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

Still think you are clever?

3rd:

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.

What is the name of the fifth daughter?

Answer: Nunu?

NO dummy!

Her name is Mary. Re-read the question.

4th:

Very tricky math ! Note: This must be done in your head only.

Do NOT use a pen/pencil, paper or calculator. Just brain power.

Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?.

Did you get 5000?

The correct answer is 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator! You are as dumb as an ox.

Bonus question:

A mute person wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done.

A blind man wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?

Answer: The blind person just has to open his mouth and ask, He's not mute!

More by this Author

I've come across these weird thoughts or questions coming up everyday in our lives. The funny thing is we never stop and ponder over them, or ask "why is it".
I hope you enjoy it...
Why doesn't McDonald's...

I passed most of them can I work for Microsoft now? (the answer is no, they aren't hiring). I love this! I grew up with my father asking us these kinds of questions. But to your friend, I am so sorry. 32? that is so young. Here's prayers for slow advancement and fast advances in medicine! Hugs!

There is nothing we can say to change what is, we can only be here to listen my friend!

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

true, listen to what again

Iphigenia 7 years ago

32 years old - that is unbelievable -we all think of this as a disease of the elderly. I got all the logic-type questions right - but the math one completely wrong ... and i didn't believe it .... and checked with my calculator ....

Best wishes for your friend and his family and friends - you are all in this together.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

Iphig, women tend to do better at these questions than men, wonder why.

nazishnasim 7 years ago

M.A.D

It's a conincidence that just today I saw the movie 'the notebook' again and you published your hub on the same topic too. I absolutely love that movie for the man's dedication and love for his wife. I can't imagine the pain that a person'd feel when they come to know that somebody they know has Alzheimer ... worse still if he/she's in the family. Everyone here'd be saying a silent prayer for your friend. May he become a miraculous survivor.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

we all hope but no deffinate cure as yet, so lets ust wait and see, TX naz

MAD - Me thinks it's because we think with our brains... but you knew the answer to that one!! Or rather you used to know!

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

yeah and my brain is expanding...

Tatjana-Mihaela 7 years ago from Zadar, CROATIA

Wow, 32, only...

In case he wants to listen to you - strongly recommend vitamins B (daily) and let him check hormonal levels ( especially testosteron, and other sexual hormones) - sexual hormones are that ones which build the brain. Their level can drop down because of stress.

Many regards.

blondepoet 7 years ago from australia

I would not wish this upon anyone have seen it myself first hand. It just shows we got to live each day the best we can, because God you never know.

AEvans 7 years ago from SomeWhere Out There

Oh good grief, I had gotten the first two correct and I calculated and ended up with the answer that is wrong. Dementia is a sad disease and I hope that one day they're will be a cure. As for your Q and A it was hilarious!!! lololo ::::::::D

Nanny J.O.A.T. 7 years ago from Somewhere over the rainbow

MAD - so very sorry to hear of the diagnosis of your friend, it's a tough one.

Hopefully, with the advances we already have and new ones coming, he will be able to function well for many years yet. Cherish the time.

He is being a very brave person about this. Godspeed.

Janetta 7 years ago

my friend's stepfather is in the moderate to severe phase. If they had caught it early, like your friend did, they could have drastically slowed the progression. Devastating news, but be thankful he knows now and can treat it. catching it early is certainly for the best and the medication will help. My prayers are with your friend and you as well :)

apeksha 7 years ago from India.

Pauli..the best hub..of u..nice keep writing on such things....

feeweewv 7 years ago from Between A Dream And Reality

I work in a nursing home, have for over 7 years. When I started there I had a patient who had alzhiemers disease. Every day her husband would come to visit her. He spent the hours between breakfast and lunch with her, he would stay to feed her lunch. After a couple years of this, one of my co-workders said to him "You come to see her every day and she has no idea who you are anymore, doesn't that discourage you from visiting?" He replied, she may not know who I am, but I know who she is, silly.

Frieda Babbley 7 years ago from Saint Louis, MO

at 32? that is so sad. My goodness. My grandmother had dimentia, though she was well into her late 70s. No one would take care of her and my mother didn't want her to go to a hospital or home, so she braught her to America and looked after her. It was the hardest years of my mother's life and took her a long time to get over. needless to say, it was a blessing when my grandmother died, for both of them.

milavrab 7 years ago

what a horrid story about your friend. Sorry for your friend and sorry for his friend Jey

trimar7 7 years ago from New York

I did not realize that people so young could get alzheimer's disease. My grandmother had it. It is such a sad disease when someone who was once so vital does not even know their loved ones. One thing I will say about my grandma, she never lost her faith right to the very end.

lxxy 7 years ago from Beneath, Between, Beyond

Very interesting article, Thumbs Up! I'm sorry to hear of your freind, men are dorks. However, hopefully knowing they have this issue will give them time to prepare and adjust.

Alzheimers is an elusive disease, and I'm pretty sure its mostly caused by enviroment. There's something many of us are ingesting, causing this issue....or perhaps its always been there, and has only begun to rear its head because of a population explosion.

Or just maybe mad cow is much more prevelant than we're lead to believe.

I wish your friend well, and I hope this article goes high up into the HP history books.

My very best wishes to your friend! I understand what he has to deal with. My grandmother is suffering Alzheimer's. She repeats the same questions over and over again in a short conversation, she is slowly forgetting things. It's so sad to see her like that, because she was always tough as nails, and now she seems so frail.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

sad enough as it is AnnaM, thats the reality of life, and unfortunately we can't choose what lies ahead. What hurts me most is his young children... they are a wonderful family and I always ask why is it that the people that most deserve happiness and joy is always stuck with shis kind of crap.

ethel smith 7 years ago from Kingston-Upon-Hull

Failed all of them I'm afraid. Oh dear. Still I was not really concentrating. I shall stick to that excuse :) I work as a clerk on a medical elderly hospital ward and see so many dementia patients. At 32 though it is very cruel.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

Thats life aint it.

Doug 7 years ago

Sorry to hear about your friend. But, his is a very interesting case. His is an extremely young age for onset. Alzheimer's is typically a disease of old age, but it can strike earlier (the earliest I have heard about involved people in their 40's). Early onset almost always has a genetic component. It is interesting that you mentioned his humor. It seems as if elements of our basic personality survive even into the depths of the disease. So, funny, good-humored people are more likely to remain that way until the end, while jerks become even worse as the disease progresses.

RooBee 7 years ago from Here

Not much more I can say that hasn't been said here. I, too, thought of it as something that strikes much people much older than that.

All my best toward your friend and his family. Thanks for writing this! (I aced your test - except the math, but I got it when I went back and tried it over, does that count?)

Seriously, though, I'm glad your buddy has good humor as Doug mentioned - I hope he is able to retain it.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

Tx Rbee, yes that counts, at least you didn't 4get to go back. LOL

BetsyIckes 7 years ago from Pennsylvania

My mother died of Alzheimer's. I never forget the day when she told me that I was older then her. She thought I was my grandmother who I resemble a lot. The mind can do sad things to us sometimes.

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

bets, I sorry to hear bout your mom, How did you handle it emotionally. i'm so scared, dont know what to expect, I've read everything I could on the web, but alas I dont think the reading prepares us for something like this...

BetsyIckes 7 years ago from Pennsylvania

In some ways it was a swift decent for her only lasting 3 years when it started to esculate. At first I was mad at the world for letting this happen to her, but as time went on I slowly accepted that this is just the way it was going to be. The final stages was the hardest and I was the one to have to make the decision whether or not to have a feeding tube put in when she could no longer feed herself.

Sometimes we have to base our decision on what quality of life is left - if the body just a shell of a human that once was. Each case is different for everyone.

BetsyIckes 7 years ago from Pennsylvania

One of my funniest memories of her disease was the time she wrapped the X-mas gifts with paper towels... At least we did save some money on wrapping paper and the towels did come in handy!

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

sweet, tx 4 sharing

advisor4qb 7 years ago from On New Footing

So THAT is what is wrong with me!!! I thought I was losing my mind!

men are dorks 7 years ago from Namibia Author

haha, crazy girl

Adam B 7 years ago

Wow...I got all those question wrong; they were very interesting though. I lost my grandfather a few years ago to Alzheimers and I am sure I will be next in line to get it. I work hard to raise money for alzheimers and am actually applying for a grant in order to work full time on educating people on the disease and raising money to find a cure.

Keep up the good work.

AEvans 6 years ago from SomeWhere Out There

Just a question , where have you been? I was looking for another hub. :)

Pollyannalana 6 years ago from US

Hi,I hope your friend can always be cared for at home because once hospitals and nursing homes get him, crazy will be the least of his problems. I have been fighting for my Mom now in and out of those places, mostly in for at least 3 yrs and kept her with me the ten years before that. Quiet and calm is the best medicine for them...well except for Aricept, etc. Mom got so the last few years with me she didn't want to see her other kids even, its a real battle, I am really sorry, but do laugh, you have to, we laughed at and with Mom, it is no disgrace, its a must. Look into herbs too, I have been lately but Mom is way past that but still if she were here I would try.

men are dorks 6 years ago from Namibia Author

Tx Polly... its been some time now since I wrote this hub, and things are slowly deteriorating. meds help to an extend, yes we use or try natural herbs too.

Some days I just sit and stare at him for long periods of time, sometimes I cry... He's my best friend and I cant do anything to help him.

Pollyannalana 6 years ago from US

Yes, believe me I know...and then too when I forget anything I think.."Oh No!" So I am looking into all I can NOW. So strange though Mom call all the nurses by my name, even the black ones and she knows no one, including me now but when her only living sister and brother visited her she knew her brother...and not the sister she has always been so close to.

It will be a long time fighting Alzheimer's.

men are dorks 6 years ago from Namibia Author

Ta...

MartyWare 6 years ago from New South Wales Australia

Yes, I have seen this problem amongst elderly friends and family. It's very sad!

I hope more can be done for sufferers in the future!

Marty Ware

The SEO Dad & the creator of the Hubpages Tribe

Karen Wodke 5 years ago from Midwest

I appreciate your article. Not the test, though. I didn't score so well on it. But I blame that on the distracting noise made by my computer. If this comment doesn't make sense, it's because that noise is still going on. Still distracting me.